Textual and Translation Issues in Greek Exodus
In: The Book of ExodusSearch for other papers by Leonard J. Greenspoon in
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Abstract
Sometime in the third or fourth decade of the third century BCE, somewhere in or around Alexandria, Egypt, one or more individuals working closely together prepared the first translation of the Hebrew text of the book of Exodus. This translation ultimately became known as the Septuagint (or lxx) version of Exodus; as such, it exercised tremendous influence upon the thinking and practice of Greek-speaking Jews and later of Christians. This chapter deals with the Ten Commandments as rendered in the Septuagint. After providing an English translation of the lxx (from NETS) of Exod 20:1-17 and the Hebrew (from NJPS) of Exod 20:1-14, it raises ten questions relating to this version. Some questions are: How does this lxx rendering of the Ten Commandments compare with the translation of the rest of the book of Exodus? What role has the Ten Commandments played in "Jewish" tradition?